Hit by truck

OAKWOOD, Ill. (WCIA) -- A family is devastated and asking how to move on when their patriarch died after being hit by a semi-truck. It happened Tuesday night at a gas station.

Police say 47-year old Kevin Edwards, of Jacksonville, is the victim. His stepdaughter says he's the only father she's ever known and coming to grips with his death will be hard.

"Just wish this was a dream. It's not some call you want to get at 11 o'clock at night."

Edwards' family woke up to a nightmare.

"He was just walking to his truck and it happened and now somebody's out of a dad, a husband, a son, 'Papa,' as my son calls him."

Edwards was killed when he was struck by a semi Tuesday night at an Oakwood gas station. According to police, the driver did not see him walking by. It wasn't until he stopped some time later, at the interstate entrance, he realized he'd been dragging a body for several feet.

"How do you miss a man? I mean, he was 6' tall. He was huge. How do you miss a man that size and not stop?"

Meghan Fulkerson is his stepdaughter. She says he had quite a sense of humor.

"You didn't know what to believe. He once told my mom he was a professional bull-rider, and he wasn't."

He also had a big heart and loved his family.

"I had a son four years ago and he just would call every day to talk to him."

But, those calls are now done. His family says this loss will be felt by many and they hope the man who took his life won't ever forget that.

"I don't know the reaction of the guy. All I know is that I can't hate him. Accidents do happen, but he has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life and that's enough."

The family says Edwards loved what he did. He comes from a long line of truckers. It was actually his second day on a new job when it happened.

Police say it was an accident, but they're still investigating.

Update: 11:15 am, 1/10/18, Wednesday

VERMILION COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) -- The coroner has identified the Jacksonville man hit and killed by a semi-truck.

47-year old Kevin Edwards died after being hit and dragged by a semi-truck Tuesday night. It happened near diesel pumps at Phillips 66, in Oakwood.

No word if the driver faces any charges.

Update: 7:00 am, 1/10/18, Wednesday

OAKWOOD, Ill. (WCIA) -- A man is dead after he was hit and dragged by a semi-truck.

Police say a 47-year old Jacksonville man was hit near the diesel pumps at the Phillips 66 in Oakwood. The truck dragged the man onto Oakwood Road to the I-74 eastbound ramp.

The driver pulled over on the entrance ramp because he though he was having mechanical issues. A witness told the driver he hit someone in the parking lot.

The driver has not been charged at this time.

Original: 10:55 pm, 1/9/18, Tuesday

OAKWOOD, Ill. (WCIA) -- One person is dead after a crash near Interstate 74.

It happened at the eastbound on-ramp at the Oakwood exit. State police were on the scene for several hours Tuesday night.

A truck driver told WCIA the victim was also a truck driver, and was walking on the ramp when the crash happened.

No word on who the victim was. Police say the incident was not a hit and run.

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